WLAN AP-assisted multi-way coexistence

ABSTRACT

A method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable medium for wireless communication are provided. In one aspect, an apparatus is configured to identify interference information associated with at least one traffic stream. The apparatus is further configured to transmit a message to an access point. The message includes a stream ID associated with the interference information and with the at least one traffic stream. The message includes the interference information, and the interference information includes an offset value and an interval/duration value.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/100,784, entitled “WLAN AP-ASSISTED MULTI-WAY COEXISTENCE” andfiled on Jan. 7, 2015, which is expressly incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Field

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, andmore particularly, to wireless local area network access point-assistedmulti-way coexistence.

Background

In many telecommunication systems, communications networks are used toexchange messages among several interacting spatially-separated devices.Networks may be classified according to geographic scope, which couldbe, for example, a metropolitan area, a local area, or a personal area.Such networks would be designated respectively as a wide area network(WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), local area network (LAN),wireless local area network (WLAN), or personal area network (PAN).Networks also differ according to the switching/routing technique usedto interconnect the various network nodes and devices (e.g., circuitswitching vs. packet switching), the type of physical media employed fortransmission (e.g., wired vs. wireless), and the set of communicationprotocols used (e.g., Internet protocol suite, Synchronous OpticalNetworking (SONET), Ethernet, etc.).

Wireless networks are often preferred when the network elements aremobile and thus have dynamic connectivity needs, or if the networkarchitecture is formed in an ad hoc, rather than fixed, topology.Wireless networks employ intangible physical media in an unguidedpropagation mode using electromagnetic waves in the radio, microwave,infra-red, optical, etc., frequency bands. Wireless networksadvantageously facilitate user mobility and rapid field deployment whencompared to fixed wired networks.

SUMMARY

The systems, methods, computer-readable medium, and devices of theinvention each have several aspects, no single one of which is solelyresponsible for the invention's desirable attributes. Without limitingthe scope of this invention as expressed by the claims which follow,some features will now be discussed briefly. After considering thisdiscussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled“Detailed Description,” one will understand how the features of thisinvention provide advantages for devices in a wireless network.

One aspect of this disclosure provides an apparatus (e.g., a station)for wireless communication. The apparatus is configured to identifyinterference information associated with at least one traffic stream.The apparatus is configured to transmit a message to an access point.The message includes a stream identifier (ID) associated with theinterference information and with the at least one traffic stream, andthe message includes the interference information. The interferenceinformation includes an offset value and an interval/duration value.

In another aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus for wirelesscommunication is provided. The apparatus may include means foridentifying interference information associated with at least onetraffic stream and means for transmitting a message to an access point.The message may include a stream identifier associated with theinterference information and with the at least one traffic stream. Themessage may include the interference information, and the interferenceinformation may include an offset value and an interval/duration value.In another aspect, the message may include at least one of a vendor ID,a type field, and a length field associated with the stream ID. Inanother configuration, the apparatus may include means for transmittingan update message to the access point. The update message may beassociated with the message, and the update message may include thestream ID in the message and at least one of a second offset value or asecond interval/duration value. The second offset value or the secondinterval/duration value may be associated with updated interferenceinformation related to the at least one traffic stream. In anotherconfiguration, the apparatus may include means for transmitting anupdate message to the access point. The update message may be associatedwith the message, and the update message may include the stream ID inthe message and may indicate that the interference informationassociated with the stream ID is to be deleted. In anotherconfiguration, the apparatus may include means for identifying at leasttwo non-periodic traffic streams and means for determining theinterval/duration value based on the at least two non-periodic trafficstreams. In this configuration, the stream ID transmitted in the messagemay be associated with the at least two non-periodic traffic streams. Inanother aspect, the stream ID may have a reserved value, and thereserved value may indicate that the message is associated withnon-periodic traffic. In another aspect, the stream ID may have areserved value, and the reserved value may indicate that all stream IDsassociated with the apparatus are to be deleted. In anotherconfiguration, the apparatus may include means for receiving a beaconmessage or a probe response message from the access point. The beaconmessage or the probe response message may include information indicatingwhether the access point is capable of interference informationprocessing using stream IDs. In this configuration, the apparatus mayinclude means for determining whether the access point is capable ofinterference information processing using stream IDs based on theinformation in the beacon message or the probe response message. Inanother configuration, the apparatus may include means for transmittingan association message to the access point. The association message mayindicate whether the apparatus is capable of using stream IDs to reportinterference information associated with a traffic stream. In anotherconfiguration, the apparatus may include means for transmitting atrigger message to the access point. The trigger message may betransmitted during a time period in which interference to the apparatusis not present.

In another aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium of astation storing computer executable code is provided. Thecomputer-readable medium may include code for identifying interferenceinformation associated with at least one traffic stream and fortransmitting a message to an access point. The message may includes astream ID associated with the interference information and with the atleast one traffic stream. The message may include the interferenceinformation, and the interference information may include an offsetvalue and an interval/duration value. In an aspect, the message mayinclude at least one of a vendor ID, a type field, and a length fieldassociated with the stream ID. In another configuration, thecomputer-readable medium may include code for transmitting an updatemessage to the access point. The update message may be associated withthe message, and the update message may include the stream ID in themessage and at least one of a second offset value or a secondinterval/duration value. The second offset value or the secondinterval/duration value may be associated with updated interferenceinformation related to the at least one traffic stream. In anotherconfiguration, the computer-readable medium may include code fortransmitting an update message to the access point. The update messagemay be associated with the message, and the update message may includethe stream ID in the message and may indicate that the interferenceinformation associated with the stream ID is to be deleted. In anotherconfiguration, the computer-readable medium may include code foridentifying at least two non-periodic traffic streams and fordetermining the interval/duration value based on the at least twonon-periodic traffic streams. The stream ID transmitted in the messagemay be associated with the at least two non-periodic traffic streams. Inanother aspect, the stream ID may have a reserved value, and thereserved value may indicate that the message is associated withnon-periodic traffic. In another aspect, the stream ID may have areserved value, and the reserved value may indicate that all stream IDsassociated with the station are to be deleted. In another configuration,the computer-readable medium may include code for receiving a beaconmessage or a probe response message from the access point, and thebeacon message or the probe response message may include informationindicating whether the access point is capable of interferenceinformation processing using stream IDs. In this configuration, thecomputer-readable medium may include code for determining whether theaccess point is capable of interference information processing usingstream IDs based on the information in the beacon message or the proberesponse message. In another configuration, the computer-readable mediummay include code for transmitting an association message to the accesspoint. The association message may indicate whether the station iscapable of using stream IDs to report interference informationassociated with a traffic stream. In another configuration, thecomputer-readable medium may include code for transmitting a triggermessage to the access point, and the trigger message may be transmittedduring a time period in which interference to the station is notpresent.

Another aspect of this disclosure provides an apparatus (e.g., an accesspoint) for wireless communication. The apparatus is configured toreceive at least one message from a station, and the at least onemessage includes interference information that includes an offset valueand an interval/duration value. The apparatus is configured to determinewhether the at least one message includes at least one of a stream ID, avendor ID, a type field, or a length field associated with the streamID.

In another aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus for wirelesscommunication is provided. The apparatus may include means for receivingat least one message from a station, in which the at least one messageincludes interference information that comprises an offset value and aninterval/duration value. The apparatus may include means for determiningwhether the at least one message includes at least one of a stream ID, avendor ID, a type field, or a length field associated with the streamID. In another configuration, the apparatus may include means forreceiving a trigger message from the station and means for transmittingdata to the station based on at least one of the offset value or theinterval/duration value in each of the received at least one message. Inone configuration, the means for transmitting data to the station may beconfigured to determine a transmission time window based on the at leastone of the offset value or the interval/duration value in each of thereceived at least one message. In this configuration, the means fortransmitting data may be configured to determine the transmission timewindow by selecting a transmission time window size that does notoverlap with any future interference as determined based on the offsetvalue or the interval/duration value in each of the received at leastone message. In another configuration, the apparatus may include meansfor receiving an update message from the station. The update message maybe associated with the received at least one message from the station,and the update message may include a second stream ID identical to thestream ID in the received at least one message and includes at least oneof an updated offset value or an updated interval/duration value. Inthis configuration, the apparatus may include means for updating atleast one of the offset value or the interval/duration value associatedwith the stream ID based on the updated offset value or the updatedinterval/duration value. In another configuration, the apparatus mayinclude means for means for receiving an update message from thestation. The update message may be associated with the received at leastone message from the station, and the update message may include asecond stream ID identical to the stream ID in the received at least onemessage. In this configuration, the apparatus may include means fordeleting at least one of the offset value or the interval/duration valueassociated with the stream ID. In another configuration, the apparatusmay include means for receiving an update message from the station. Theupdate message may include a second stream ID having a default valueindicating that all stream IDs associated with the station are to bedeleted. In this configuration, the apparatus may include means fordeleting all stream IDs associated with the station. In anotherconfiguration, the apparatus may include means for associating thereceived at least one message from the station with a reserved stream IDbased on the determination that the received at least one message doesnot include a stream ID. In another configuration, the apparatus mayinclude means for transmitting a beacon message or a probe responsemessage to the station. The beacon message or the probe response messagemay indicate whether the access point is capable of interferenceinformation processing using stream IDs. In another configuration, theapparatus may include means for receiving an association message fromthe station. The association message may indicate whether the station iscapable of using stream IDs to report interference informationassociated with a traffic stream.

In another aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium of anaccess point storing computer executable code for wireless communicationis provided. The computer-readable medium may include code for receivingat least one message from a station. The at least one message includesinterference information that comprises an offset value and aninterval/duration value. The computer-readable medium may include codefor determining whether the at least one message includes at least oneof a stream ID, a vendor ID, a type field, or a length field associatedwith the stream ID. In another configuration, the computer-readablemedium may include code for receiving a trigger message from the stationand for transmitting data to the station based on at least one of theoffset value or the interval/duration value in each of the received atleast one message. In another configuration, the code for transmittingdata to the station may include code for determining a transmission timewindow based on the at least one of the offset value or theinterval/duration value in each of the received at least one message. Inan aspect, the code for determining the transmission time window mayinclude code for selecting a transmission time window size that does notoverlap with any future interference as determined based on the offsetvalue or the interval/duration value in each of the received at leastone message. In another configuration, the computer-readable medium mayinclude code for receiving an update message from the station. Theupdate message may be associated with the received at least one messagefrom the station, and the update message may include a second stream IDidentical to the stream ID in the received at least one message andinclude at least one of an updated offset value or an updatedinterval/duration value. In this configuration, the computer-readablemedium may include code for updating at least one of the offset value orthe interval/duration value associated with the stream ID based on theupdated offset value or the updated interval/duration value. In anotherconfiguration, the computer-readable medium may include code forreceiving an update message from the station. The update message may beassociated with the received at least one message from the station, andthe update message may include a second stream ID identical to thestream ID in the received at least one message. In this configuration,the computer-readable medium may include code for deleting at least oneof the offset value or the interval/duration value associated with thestream ID. In another configuration, the computer-readable medium mayinclude code for receiving an update message from the station. Theupdate message may include a second stream ID having a default valueindicating that all stream IDs associated with the station are to bedeleted. In this configuration, the computer-readable medium may includecode for deleting all stream IDs associated with the station. In anotherconfiguration, the computer-readable medium may include code forassociating the received at least one message from the station with areserved stream ID based on the determination that the received at leastone message does not include a stream ID. In another configuration, thecomputer-readable medium may include code for transmitting a beaconmessage or a probe response message to the station. The beacon messageor the probe response message may indicate whether the access point iscapable of interference information processing using stream IDs. Inanother configuration, the computer-readable medium may include code forreceiving an association message from the station. The associationmessage may indicate whether the station is capable of using stream IDsto report interference information associated with a traffic stream.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example wireless communication system in which aspectsof the present disclosure may be employed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a method of supporting coexistence for one stream(e.g., using unscheduled automatic power save delivery (U-APSD)).

FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram of a frame structure for an add trafficstream (ATS) frame that supports coexistence for multiple streams.

FIG. 4 contains diagrams illustrating methods of performing AP-assistedmulti-way coexistence for multiple traffic streams.

FIG. 5 shows an example functional block diagram of a wireless devicethat may perform AP-assisted multi-way coexistence for communicatingwithin the wireless communication system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example method of performing multi-waycoexistence.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of an example wirelesscommunication device that performs multi-way coexistence.

FIG. 8 shows an example functional block diagram of a wireless devicesupporting multi-way coexistence within the wireless communicationsystem of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts of an example method of wirelesscommunication for supporting AP-assisted multi-way coexistence.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of an example wirelesscommunication device for supporting AP-assisted multi-way coexistence.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the novel systems, apparatuses, computer programproducts, and methods are described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limitedto any specific structure or function presented throughout thisdisclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosurewill be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of thedisclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings hereinone skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of thedisclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the novel systems,apparatuses, computer program products, and methods disclosed herein,whether implemented independently of, or combined with, any other aspectof the invention. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or amethod may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forthherein. In addition, the scope of the invention is intended to coversuch an apparatus or method which is practiced using other structure,functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or otherthan the various aspects of the invention set forth herein. It should beunderstood that any aspect disclosed herein may be embodied by one ormore elements of a claim.

Although particular aspects are described herein, many variations andpermutations of these aspects fall within the scope of the disclosure.Although some benefits and advantages of the preferred aspects arementioned, the scope of the disclosure is not intended to be limited toparticular benefits, uses, or objectives. Rather, aspects of thedisclosure are intended to be broadly applicable to different wirelesstechnologies, system configurations, networks, and transmissionprotocols, some of which are illustrated by way of example in thefigures and in the following description of the preferred aspects. Thedetailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of thedisclosure rather than limiting, the scope of the disclosure beingdefined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

Popular wireless network technologies may include various types ofWLANs. A WLAN may be used to interconnect nearby devices together,employing widely used networking protocols. The various aspectsdescribed herein may apply to any communication standard, such as awireless protocol.

In some aspects, wireless signals may be transmitted according to an802.11 protocol using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM),direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) communications, a combination ofOFDM and DSSS communications, or other schemes. Implementations of the802.11 protocol may be used for sensors, metering, and smart gridnetworks. Advantageously, aspects of certain devices implementing the802.11 protocol may consume less power than devices implementing otherwireless protocols, and/or may be used to transmit wireless signalsacross a relatively long range, for example about one kilometer orlonger.

In some implementations, a WLAN includes various devices which are thecomponents that access the wireless network. For example, there may betwo types of devices: access points (APs) and clients (also referred toas stations or “STAs”). In general, an AP may serve as a hub or basestation for the WLAN and a STA serves as a user of the WLAN. Forexample, a STA may be a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a mobile phone, etc. In an example, a STA connects to an AP via aWiFi (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocol) compliant wireless link to obtaingeneral connectivity to the Internet or to other wide area networks. Insome implementations a STA may also be used as an AP.

An access point may also comprise, be implemented as, or known as aNodeB, Radio Network Controller (RNC), eNodeB, Base Station Controller(BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Base Station (BS), TransceiverFunction (TF), Radio Router, Radio Transceiver, connection point, orsome other terminology.

A STA may also comprise, be implemented as, or known as an accessterminal (AT), a subscriber station, a subscriber unit, a mobilestation, a remote station, a remote terminal, a user terminal, a useragent, a user device, a user equipment, or some other terminology. Insome implementations, the STA may comprise a cellular telephone, acordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, awireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), ahandheld device having wireless connection capability, or some othersuitable processing device connected to a wireless modem. Accordingly,one or more aspects taught herein may be incorporated into a phone(e.g., a cellular phone or smartphone), a computer (e.g., a laptop), aportable communication device, a headset, a portable computing device(e.g., a personal data assistant), an entertainment device (e.g., amusic or video device, or a satellite radio), a gaming device or system,a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device that isconfigured to communicate via a wireless medium.

The term “associate,” or “association,” or any variant thereof should begiven the broadest meaning possible within the context of the presentdisclosure. By way of example, when a first apparatus associates with asecond apparatus, it should be understood that the two apparatuses maybe directly associated or intermediate apparatuses may be present. Forpurposes of brevity, the process for establishing an association betweentwo apparatuses will be described using a handshake protocol thatrequires an “association request” by one of the apparatus followed by an“association response” by the other apparatus. It will be understood bythose skilled in the art that the handshake protocol may require othersignaling, such as by way of example, signaling to provideauthentication.

Any reference to an element herein using a designation such as “first,”“second,” and so forth does not generally limit the quantity or order ofthose elements. Rather, these designations are used herein as aconvenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements orinstances of an element. Thus, a reference to first and second elementsdoes not mean that only two elements can be employed, or that the firstelement must precede the second element. In addition, a phrase referringto “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of thoseitems, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: A, B,or C” is intended to cover: A, or B, or C, or any combination thereof(e.g., A-B, A-C, B-C, and A-B-C).

As discussed above, certain devices described herein may implement the802.11 standard, for example. Such devices, whether used as a STA or APor other device, may be used for smart metering or in a smart gridnetwork. Such devices may provide sensor applications or be used in homeautomation. The devices may instead or in addition be used in ahealthcare context, for example for personal healthcare. They may alsobe used for surveillance, to enable extended-range Internet connectivity(e.g. for use with hotspots), or to implement machine-to-machinecommunications.

FIG. 1 shows an example wireless communication system 100 in whichaspects of the present disclosure may be employed. The wirelesscommunication system 100 may operate pursuant to a wireless standard,for example the 802.11 standard. The wireless communication system 100may include an AP 104, which communicates with STAs (e.g., STAs 112,114, 116, and 118).

A variety of processes and methods may be used for transmissions in thewireless communication system 100 between the AP 104 and the STAs. Forexample, signals may be sent and received between the AP 104 and theSTAs in accordance with OFDM/OFDMA techniques. If this is the case, thewireless communication system 100 may be referred to as an OFDM/OFDMAsystem. Alternatively, signals may be sent and received between the AP104 and the STAs in accordance with CDMA techniques. If this is thecase, the wireless communication system 100 may be referred to as a CDMAsystem.

A communication link that facilitates transmission from the AP 104 toone or more of the STAs may be referred to as a downlink (DL) 108, and acommunication link that facilitates transmission from one or more of theSTAs to the AP 104 may be referred to as an uplink (UL) 110.Alternatively, a downlink 108 may be referred to as a forward link or aforward channel, and an uplink 110 may be referred to as a reverse linkor a reverse channel. In some aspects, DL communications may includeunicast or multicast traffic indications.

The AP 104 may suppress adjacent channel interference (ACI) in someaspects so that the AP 104 may receive UL communications on more thanone channel simultaneously without causing significant analog-to-digitalconversion (ADC) clipping noise. The AP 104 may improve suppression ofACI, for example, by having separate finite impulse response (FIR)filters for each channel or having a longer ADC backoff period withincreased bit widths.

The AP 104 may act as a base station and provide wireless communicationcoverage in a basic service area (BSA) 102. A BSA (e.g., the BSA 102) isthe coverage area of an AP (e.g., the AP 104). The AP 104 along with theSTAs associated with the AP 104 and that use the AP 104 forcommunication may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS). It shouldbe noted that the wireless communication system 100 may not have acentral AP (e.g., AP 104), but rather may function as a peer-to-peernetwork between the STAs. Accordingly, the functions of the AP 104described herein may alternatively be performed by one or more of theSTAs.

The AP 104 may transmit on one or more channels (e.g., multiplenarrowband channels, each channel including a frequency bandwidth) abeacon signal (or simply a “beacon”), via a communication link such asthe downlink 108, to other nodes (STAs) of the wireless communicationsystem 100, which may help the other nodes (STAs) to synchronize theirtiming with the AP 104, or which may provide other information orfunctionality. Such beacons may be transmitted periodically. In oneaspect, the period between successive transmissions may be referred toas a superframe. Transmission of a beacon may be divided into a numberof groups or intervals. In one aspect, the beacon may include, but isnot limited to, such information as timestamp information to set acommon clock, a peer-to-peer network identifier, a device identifier,capability information, a superframe duration, transmission directioninformation, reception direction information, a neighbor list, and/or anextended neighbor list, some of which are described in additional detailbelow. Thus, a beacon may include information that is both common (e.g.,shared) amongst several devices and specific to a given device.

In some aspects, a STA (e.g., STA 114) may be required to associate withthe AP 104 in order to send communications to and/or to receivecommunications from the AP 104. In one aspect, information forassociating is included in a beacon broadcast by the AP 104. To receivesuch a beacon, the STA 114 may, for example, perform a broad coveragesearch over a coverage region. A search may also be performed by the STA114 by sweeping a coverage region in a lighthouse fashion, for example.After receiving the information for associating, either from the beaconor probe response frames, the STA 114 may transmit a reference signal,such as an association probe or request, to the AP 104. In some aspects,the AP 104 may use backhaul services, for example, to communicate with alarger network, such as the Internet or a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN).

In an aspect, the AP 104 may include one or more components forperforming various functions. For example, the AP 104 may include ainterference component 124 to perform procedures related to assistingmulti-way coexistence. In this example, the interference component 124may be configured to receive at least one message from a station (e.g.,the STA 114). The at least one message may include interferenceinformation that may include an offset value and an interval/durationvalue. The interference component 124 may be configured to determinewhether the at least one message includes at least one of a stream ID, avendor ID, a type field, or a length field associated with the streamID.

In another aspect, the STA 114 may include one or more components forperforming various functions. For example, the STA 114 may include amulti-way coexistence component 126 to perform procedures related tomulti-way coexistence. In this example, the multi-way coexistencecomponent 126 may be configured to identify interference informationassociated with at least one traffic stream. The multi-way coexistencecomponent 126 may be configured to transmit a message to an access point(e.g., the AP 104). The message may include a stream ID associated withthe interference information and with the at least one traffic stream.The message may include the interference information, and theinterference information may include an offset value and aninterval/duration value.

Wireless devices such as mobile phones, laptop computers, and tabletsare often connected to other wireless devices to provide user services.For example, a mobile device may have a WLAN connection with an AP forbrowsing the Internet, voice over long term evolution (LTE) (VoLTE) fora telephone call (e.g., a VoLTE connection), and a Bluetooth (BT)connection with a hands-free headset for the telephone call. In anotherexample, the mobile device may have concurrent WLAN connection with anAP for downloading files, a Bluetooth music connection for playing backmusic on speakers, and a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) heart monitorconnection. When wireless devices transmit multiple data/traffic streamsover multiple radios (or over a single radio), the transmission maycause unwanted interference to the wireless devices' reception of Wi-Fidata. As such, there is strong demand for efficient multi-waycoexistence among different traffic streams from different radios anddifferent traffic streams from the same radio to reduce interference andthe likelihood of data transmission interference.

FIG. 2 is a diagram 200 of a method of supporting coexistence for onestream (e.g., using unscheduled automatic power save delivery (U-APSD)).In IEEE 802.11v, for example, U-APSD coexistence supports the schedulingof interference bursts for one stream. A STA may use IEEE 802.11vsignaling to advertise interference windows to an AP, and the AP mayavoid downlink transmissions during those interference windows.

Referring to the FIG. 2, the STA upon identifying/determininginterference bursts associated with a data stream (e.g., Bluetooth datastream), the STA may transmit an add traffic stream (ATS) frame (ormessage) 202 to the AP (as previously noted, the ATS frame 202 may alsobe known as an ADDTS frame such as in the IEEE 802.11v standards). TheATS frame 202 may indicate that the STA expects interference bursts at anumber of interference windows 206, 216, 226 and is unable to receiveWi-Fi transmissions during those interference windows 206, 216, 226. TheATS frame 202 may indicate when the interference windows 206, 216, 226may begin by using an offset value. For example, an offset value of 1 msmay indicate that a first interference window 206 starts in thefollowing time slot if each time slot is 1 ms in length. The ATS frame202 may also include an interval/duration value that indicates theinterval (e.g., in ms) at which the interference windows 216, 226 mayoccur. Referring to FIG. 2, in one example, the ATS frame 202 mayinclude an offset value of 1 ms and an interval/duration value of 3 ms.Upon successfully receiving the ATS frame 202, the AP may transmit anacknowledgment message/frame 204 to the STA. Assuming an offset value of1 ms, the AP may not transmit Wi-Fi data to the STA in the followingtime slot (e.g., time slot occurring 1 ms later) in which the firstinterference window 206 occurs. After the first interference window 206has passed, the STA may transmit a trigger frame (or message) 208 to theAP. The trigger frame 208 may indicate to the AP that the STA is readyto receive data transmissions. Upon successfully receiving the triggerframe 208, the AP transmits a second acknowledgment message/frame 210.Subsequently, the AP may transmit a first set of data 212 (e.g., in aphysical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU)) tothe STA. After successfully receiving the first set of data 212, the STAmay transmit a third acknowledgment frame/message 214 to the AP. In asubsequent time slot (e.g., at 4 ms), the AP may determine that the STAis experiencing another interference burst and, accordingly, the AP maynot transmit data to the STA during a second interference window 216.After the second interference window 216, the STA may be ready toreceive additional Wi-Fi transmissions. The STA may transmit a secondtrigger frame (or message) 218 to the AP. If the AP successfullyreceives the trigger frame 218, the AP may transmit a fourthacknowledgment message/frame 220 to the STA. Subsequently, if the AP hasdata to transmit to the STA, the AP may transmit a second set of data222 in a PPDU to the STA. If the STA successfully receives the secondset of data 222, the STA may transmit a fifth acknowledgmentmessage/frame 224 to the AP. Subsequently, based on the ATS frame 202,the AP may refrain from transmitting data to the STA in a thirdinterference window 226. In this example, the AP supports coexistencefor only one stream of data. Coexistence for multiple traffic streamsare not supported (e.g., by U-APSD) because there is no way todistinguish between more than one traffic stream. A need exists tosupport coexistence for multiple data streams with multiple periodicand/or non-periodic interference bursts.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram 300 of a frame structure for an addtraffic stream (ATS) frame that supports coexistence for multiplestreams. The ATS frame (which may also be known as an ADDTS frame in theIEEE 802.11v standards) may include several fields such as Category(e.g., 1 to represent QoS), Action, Dialog Token (a sequence number todistinguish when multiple frames of the same type are sent), TSPEC(traffic specification containing requirements such as traffic flow,packet size, expected data rates, etc.), TCLAS (defines data traffic insimpler terms when TSPEC is not supported), TCLAS Processing (TCLASprocessing parameters), and U-APSD Coexistence. The U-APSD Coexistencefield (or a similar field) may include additional fields or parameterssuch as element ID (e.g., 1 octet in size), length (e.g., 1 octet insize), timing synchronization function (TSF) offset (e.g., 8 octets insize), interval/duration (e.g., 4 octets in size), and optionalsubelements (e.g., of variable size). The TSF offset may indicate anoffset value in units of time (e.g., milliseconds) as to when the nextinterference burst/interference window may occur. An ATS frame with anon-zero offset value indicates that the interference bursts/windows maybe periodic. An ATS frame for a periodic traffic stream may beconsidered a mode 1 request or configuration. By contrast, an ATS framewith a zero offset value may indicate that the interferencebursts/windows may be non-periodic (e.g., bursty interference). An ATSframe for a non-periodic traffic stream may be considered a mode 2request or configuration. If the TSF offset value is non-zero, then theinterval/duration value may represent the time intervals at whichinterference bursts/windows may be expected (e.g., every 3 ms). If theTSF offset value is zero, then the interval/duration value may representthe time duration (e.g., in ms) for which the AP may transmit data tothe STA. In an aspect, when the interval/duration value represents atime duration, the time duration for transmitting data may beinterrupted by an interference burst/window associated with anothertraffic stream with periodic interference bursts.

An optional subelements subfield may also be included within the U-APSDcoexistence field of the ATS frame structure. The optional subelementssubfield may be utilized to support multi-way coexistence, which is acoexistence of multiple traffic streams using interference scheduling.For example, the optional subelements subfield may include additionalsubfields such as a subelement identifier (ID) (e.g., 1 octet in size),a length field (e.g., 3 octets in size), an OUI (organizationally uniqueidentifier) (e.g., 1 octet in size), an OUI Type (e.g., 1 octet insize), and a stream ID (e.g., 1 octet in size). The subelement ID may be1 octet (or 8 bits) in size and may identify one subelement among anumber of other subelements in the optional subelements subfield. Thelength subfield may indicate the length of the OUI, OUI Type, and/orstream ID subfields. The length subfield may be 3 octets (or 24-bits) insize. The OUI may be a 3 octet identifier that uniquely identifies avendor, manufacturer, or organization globally/worldwide (e.g., a Wi-FiAlliance OUI) that is associated with a device transmitting the ATSframe. The OUI Type subfield may be 1 octet and may indicate that theoptional subelement is for multi-way coexistence support (e.g., U-APSDcoexistence v1.0, for peer-to-peer, etc.). A device that receives theATS frame may determine how to process the optional subelement based onthe information included in the OUI Type. The stream ID subfield mayidentify and/or be associated with a traffic stream of a devicetransmitting the ATS frame. The stream ID may identify different trafficstreams from different radios or different traffic streams from the sameradio. Although FIG. 3 provides a size (in octets) and a hexadecimalvalue for each of the subfields in the optional subelements subfield,the values are exemplary and any suitable value may be used.

FIG. 4 contains diagrams 400, 450 illustrating methods of performingAP-assisted multi-way coexistence for multiple traffic streams.Referring to diagram 400, the STA 114 (in FIG. 1) may have multipleconcurrent connections with periodic transmissions or interferencebursts (e.g., mode 1) such as connections that include an LTE connection(e.g., LTE time division duplex (TDD) Band 40, 2380-2400, config 1), aBluetooth extended synchronous connection (eSCO), and a WLAN connection.For each connection, the STA 114 may transmit data by generating andtransmitting a traffic stream. For example, in the LTE connection, theSTA 114 may receive data in downlink traffic slots 402 and transmit datain uplink traffic slots 404. By transmitting data in the uplink trafficslots 404, the STA 114 may generate interference that impedes thesuccessful reception of data from other connections (e.g., the WLANconnection with the AP 104 in FIG. 1). In an aspect, the STA 114 mayexpect interference while transmitting data in uplink traffic slots 404and identify LTE interference information associated with the uplink LTEtraffic stream. The LTE interference information may include informationrelated to a first LTE interference burst 406, a second LTE interferenceburst 408, and subsequent LTE interference bursts 410 (the arrowsreferring to the first LTE interference burst 406, the second LTEinterference burst 408, and the subsequent LTE interference bursts 410may indicate starts of the interference bursts). In this aspect, thefirst LTE interference burst 406, the second LTE interference burst 408,and the subsequent LTE interference bursts 410 may occur in a periodicmanner (e.g., every 5 ms). Similarly, for the Bluetooth eSCO connection,the STA 114 may transmit data in the transmit slots 420 and receive datain the receive slots 422. The STA 114 may expect interference whiletransmitting data in the transmit slots 420 and identify the Bluetoothinterference information associated with the Bluetooth eSCO trafficstream. In an aspect, the Bluetooth eSCO interference information mayinclude information related to a first BT interference burst 424, asecond BT interference burst 426, and subsequent BT interference bursts428 (the arrows referring to the first BT interference burst 424, thesecond BT interference burst 426, and the subsequent BT interferencebursts 428 may indicate starts of the interference bursts).

During the various interference bursts (e.g., the LTE interferencebursts 406, 408, 410 and the BT interference bursts 424, 426, 428), theSTA 114 may not want to receive any Wi-Fi data transmissions from the AP104 because the interference bursts may interfere with the ability ofthe STA 114 to successfully receive the Wi-Fi data transmissions.

As such, the STA 114 may report the interference bursts to the AP 104 bysending a first message or frame (e.g., an ATS frame in U-APSDcoexistence mode 1 request) to the AP 104 notifying the AP 104 of whenthe STA 114 expects to experience LTE interference bursts. In an aspect,the STA 114 may identify interference information associated with theLTE traffic stream (a periodic traffic stream). The STA 114 may identifyinterference information associated with the LTE traffic stream bydetermining the presence of the LTE traffic stream based on the LTEconnection and determine the times at which interference bursts may begenerated by the LTE connection. Based on the timing information, theSTA 114 may report an offset value and an interval/duration valuerelated interference bursts to the AP 104 for purpose of schedulingtransmissions from the AP 104. In an aspect, this interferenceinformation may be transmitted in the first message to the AP 104. Forexample, the STA 114 may transmit the first message to the AP 104, andthe first message may include a first stream ID (e.g., stream ID 1)associated with the interference information, and the first stream IDmay be associated with the LTE traffic stream. The interferenceinformation may include a first offset value (e.g., 1 ms) that mayindicate an offset from a current time when the AP 104 may expect thefirst LTE interference burst 406, for example. The interferenceinformation may include a first interval/duration value (e.g., every3.75 ms) that may indicate an interval at which the AP 104 may expectthe remaining LTE interference bursts (e.g., the second LTE interferenceburst 408, the subsequent LTE interference bursts 410). In oneconfiguration, the first message may also include a first vendoridentifier (e.g., the OUI), a first type field (e.g., the OUI Type), anda first length field associated with the first stream ID.

In addition to LTE interference bursts, the STA 114 may also createother interference bursts. Referring to FIG. 4, the first BTinterference burst 424, the second BT interference burst 426, and thesubsequent BT interference bursts 428 may occur at different timeoffsets and at different time intervals than the LTE interference bursts(e.g., the first LTE interference burst 406, the second LTE interferenceburst 408, and the subsequent interference bursts 410). The AP 104 mayneed to know the BT interference bursts 424, 426, 428—in addition to theLTE interference bursts 406, 408, 410—in order to know when not totransmit data to the STA 114 when interference is expected. To do so,the STA 114 may report the BT interference bursts to the AP 104 bysending a second message (e.g., a second ATS frame in U-APSD coexistencemode 1 request) to the AP 104, notifying the AP 104 of when the STA 114expects to experience BT interference bursts. In an aspect, the STA 114may identify interference information associated with the BT eSCOtraffic stream (a periodic traffic stream). The interference informationmay be associated with a second stream ID, and the second stream ID(e.g., stream ID 2) may be associated with the BT traffic stream. Thesecond stream ID for the BT traffic stream may be different from thefirst stream ID for the LTE traffic stream. The interference informationmay include a second offset value (e.g., 3 ms) that may indicate whenthe AP 104 may expect the first BT interference burst 424, for example.The interference information may include an interval/duration value(e.g., 3.75 ms) that may indicate an interval at which the AP 104 mayexpect the remaining BT interference bursts (e.g., the second BTinterference burst 426, the subsequent LTE interference bursts 428). Inone configuration, the second message may also include a second vendoridentifier (e.g., the OUI), a second type field (e.g., the OUI Type),and a second length field associated with the second stream ID. Thesecond vendor identifier associated with BT traffic stream may be thesame or different from the first vendor identifier associated with theLTE traffic stream. The second type field may be the same or differentfrom the first type field associated with the LTE traffic stream. Andthe second length field associated with the second stream ID for the BTtraffic stream may be different from the first length field associatedwith the first stream ID for the LTE traffic stream. Although thisexample illustrates traffic streams from different radios (e.g., a radiofor LTE communication and a radio for BT communication), differenttraffic streams may be associated with the same radio (multiple BTconnections from the same BT radio), and the STA 114 may transmitmultiple messages (e.g., ATS frames) for multiple streams associatedwith the same radio. Furthermore, although only two streams (and streamIDs) are illustrated in diagram 400, additional streams and stream IDsmay be used. Although this example illustrates interference fromdifferent radios, the interference may also be from the same radio. Forexample, the schedule of interference bursts may be used to representperiods of time when a WLAN radio is not available for receiving datadue to other reasons (e.g., off-channel activities). For example, theWLAN radio of a STA may operate concurrently on two channels in atime-multiplexing manner, one channel for a P2P network and anotherchannel for communicating with an AP.

The AP 104 may receive the first and second messages from the STA 114.The first and second messages may include interference information andmay include an offset value and an interval/duration value. The AP 104may determine whether the first and/or second messages include at leastone of a stream ID, a vendor identifier, a type field, or a length fieldassociated with the stream ID. On the one hand, if the AP 104 determinesthat the first message does not contain any stream IDs, the AP 104 mayassociate the first message and the interference information in thefirst message with a reserved stream ID (e.g., stream ID −1). Forexample, the AP 104 may associate the first offset value with thereserved stream ID and the first interval/duration value with thereserved stream ID. In an aspect, the AP 104 or the STA 114 may have oneor more reserved stream IDs (or pre-configured stream IDs), and eachstream ID may have a specific purpose (e.g., delete all streamsassociated with a STA or delay interference scheduling for a period oftime for a certain STA such that the AP may transmit data to the STA assoon as the data becomes available).

In another example, if the first message contains the first stream ID(e.g., stream ID 1), the first vendor identifier, the first type field,and the first length field, the AP 104 may register or store theinterference information (e.g., the first offset value and the firstinterval/duration value associated with the first stream ID) for thefirst stream ID. The interference information may be associated with thefirst stream ID and the STA 114. The interference information may beassociated with the STA 114 based on the MAC address of the STA 114,which may be included in the first message.

Similarly, upon receiving the second message from the STA 114 anddetermining the second message includes the second stream ID, the secondvendor identifier, the second type field, and the second length field,the AP 104 may register the interference information (e.g., the secondoffset value and the second interval/duration value associated with thesecond stream ID) for the second stream ID. To associate each stream IDwith the appropriate or corresponding STA, the AP 104 may associate thestream ID with the MAC address of the STA from which the message wasreceived. In an aspect, if different STAs transmit messages with a samestream ID, the AP 104 may distinguish between the stream IDs based onthe MAC address of each of the STAs. For example, the AP 104 mayassociate the first and second stream IDs with the MAC address of theSTA 114. If the STA 116 also transmits a message to the AP 104 with thesame first stream ID, the AP 104 may distinguish between the stream IDsbased on the different MAC addresses associated with each of the STAs114, 116. Based on the received messages, the AP 104 may generate aschedule of interference bursts associated with the STA 114 (and otherSTAs) in order to determine when to transmit data to each of the STAs.

Subsequently, the STA 114 may transmit a first trigger message 430(e.g., a U-APSD trigger message) to the AP 104. The first triggermessage 430 may indicate to the AP 104 that the STA 114 is available fora data transmission. The STA 114 may transmit the first trigger message430 when interference to the STA 114 is not present. In responsereceiving the first trigger message 430, the AP 104 may transmit a firstdata transmission 432 to the STA 114. The first data transmission 432from the AP 104 to the STA 114 may be based on the first offset valueand/or the first interval/duration received in the first message and thesecond offset value and/or the second interval/duration value receivedin the second message. In one configuration, the AP 104 may determine atransmission time window based on at least one of the first and/orsecond offset values and the first and/or second interval/durationvalues. In an aspect, the AP 104 may determine the transmission timewindow by identifying the type of non-periodic traffic stream (e.g., BTA2DP or BT ACL) and by selecting a transmission time window size thatdoes not overlap with any future interference bursts as determined basedon the first and/or second offset values and the first and/or secondinterval/duration values. Referring to diagram 400, upon receiving thefirst trigger message 430, the AP 104 may transmit the first datatransmission 432 with a transmission window size that ends when the AP104 expects the STA 114 to experience the first LTE interference burst406. The transmission window size of the first data transmission 432cannot extend in time to when the first BT interference burst 424 isexpected because then the first data transmission 432 may not besuccessfully received by the STA 114 due to interference from the firstLTE interference burst 406. Similarly, the STA 114 may transmit a secondtrigger message 434 to the AP 104. Upon receiving the second triggermessage 434, the AP 104 may transmit a second data transmission 436 tothe STA 114. The transmission time window size associated with thesecond data transmission 436 may end when the AP 104 expects the STA 114to experience the second BT interference burst 426. The transmissiontime window size associated with the second data transmission 436 maynot extend in time to when the second LTE interference burst 408 isexpected because then the transmission time of the second datatransmission 436 will overlap with the second BT interference burst 426,and the STA 114 may not successfully receive the second datatransmission 436. By ending the transmission windows for the first datatransmission 432 and the second data transmission 436 at the nearestinterference burst in the future based on schedules of all interferencebursts, the AP 104 may assist the STA 114 with multi-way coexistence.

In another configuration, referring to diagram 450, the STA 114 may havemixed connections with both periodic and non-periodic interferencebursts. The STA 114 may have connections that include an LTE connection(e.g., LTE TDD Band 40, 2380-2400, configuration 1), a Bluetoothadvanced audio distribution profile (A2DP) connection, and a WLANconnection. For each connection, the STA 114 may transmit data bygenerating a traffic stream. For example, in the LTE connection, the STA114 may receive data in downlink traffic slots 452 and transmit data inuplink traffic slots 454. By transmitting data in the uplink trafficslots 454, the STA 114 may generate interference that impedes thesuccessful reception of data from other connections (e.g., the WLANconnection with the AP 104). In an aspect, the STA 114 may expectinterference while transmitting data in uplink traffic slots 454 andidentify LTE interference information associated with the uplink LTEtraffic stream. The LTE interference information may include informationrelated to a third LTE interference burst 456, a fourth LTE interferenceburst 458, and additional LTE interference bursts 460 (the arrowsreferring to the third LTE interference burst 456, the fourth LTEinterference burst 458, and the additional LTE interference bursts 460may indicate starts of the interference bursts). In this aspect, thethird LTE interference burst 456, the fourth LTE interference burst 458,and the additional LTE interference bursts 460 may occur in a periodicmanner (e.g., every 5 ms). Similarly, for the Bluetooth A2DP connection,the STA 114 may transmit data in the transmit slots 470 and receive datain the receive slots 472. However, unlike the BT eSCO and the LTEconnections, the BT A2DP connection may exhibit non-periodictransmissions and/or interference bursts. As such, the STA 114 may notbe able to expect interference bursts at regular intervals.Nevertheless, coexistence among the connections may be managed bylimiting the duration of the transmission window to reduce thelikelihood of overlap between the BT A2DP traffic stream and the WLANtraffic stream.

Referring to diagram 450, when the STA 114 expects various interferencebursts (e.g., the LTE interference bursts 456, 458, 460), the STA 114may not want to receive Wi-Fi transmissions from the AP 104 when theinterference bursts start because the interference bursts may interferewith the ability of the STA 114 to successfully receive the Wi-Fi datatransmissions.

As such, the STA 114 may report the interference bursts to the AP 104 bysending a third message or frame (e.g., a third ATS frame in U-APSDcoexistence mode 1 request) to the AP 104 notifying the AP 104 of whenthe STA 114 expects to experience LTE interference bursts. In an aspect,the STA 114 may identify interference information associated with theLTE traffic stream (a periodic traffic stream) by determining that anLTE connection exists and determining a third offset value and a thirdinterval/duration value associated with the interference bursts of theLTE traffic stream. The STA 114 may transmit the interferenceinformation in the third message to the AP 104, and the third messagemay include a third stream ID (e.g., stream ID 3) associated with theinterference information, and the third stream ID may be associated withthe LTE traffic stream. The interference information may include thethird offset value (e.g., 1 ms) that may indicate when the AP 104 mayexpect the third LTE interference burst 456, for example. Theinterference information may include the third interval/duration value(e.g., 5 ms) that may indicate an interval at which the AP 104 mayexpect the remaining LTE interference bursts (e.g., the fourth LTEinterference burst 458, the additional LTE interference bursts 460). Inone configuration, the message may also include a third vendoridentifier (e.g., the OUI), a third type field (e.g., the OUI Type), anda third length field associated with the third stream ID.

With respect to the BT A2DP connection (or any other connection withnon-period interference bursts), the STA 114 may send a fourth messageor frame (e.g., a fourth ATS frame in U-APSD coexistence mode 2 request)to the AP 104. In an aspect, the STA 114 may identify interferenceinformation associated with the BT A2DP traffic stream (a non-periodictraffic stream). The STA 114 may transmit the fourth message to the AP104, and the fourth message may include a fourth stream ID (e.g., streamID 4) associated with the interference information, and the fourthstream ID may be associated with the BT A2DP traffic stream. Theinterference information may include a fourth offset value that may beequal to 0, which may indicate to the AP 104 that traffic stream isnon-periodic (e.g., mode 2). The interference information may include afourth interval/duration value (e.g., 2.5 ms) that indicates a timeduration for which the AP 104 may transmit data to the STA 114 subjectto any periodic interference bursts. In an aspect, the time duration maybe for a fixed length. In one configuration, the message may alsoinclude a fourth vendor identifier (e.g., the OUT), a fourth type field(e.g., the OUT Type), and a fourth length field associated with thefourth stream ID. The fourth vendor identifier or the fourth type fieldmay be the same or different from the third vendor identifier and/or thethird type field in the third message.

The AP 104 may receive the third and fourth messages from the STA 114.The third and fourth messages may include interference information andmay include respective offset values and interval/duration values. Inthis example, the third message may contain the third stream ID, thethird vendor identifier, the third type field, and the third lengthfield. The AP 104 may register or store the interference information(e.g., the third offset value and the third interval/duration associatedwith the third stream ID) for the third stream ID. The interferenceinformation may be associated with the third stream ID and the STA 114.The interference information may be associated with the STA 114 based onthe MAC address of the STA 114. Similarly, upon receiving the fourthmessage from the STA 114 and determining that the fourth messageincludes the fourth stream ID, the fourth vendor identifier, the fourthtype field, and/or the fourth length field, the AP 104 may register theinterference information (e.g., the fourth offset value and the fourthinterval/duration value associated with the fourth stream ID) for thefourth stream ID. In an aspect, the AP 104 may associate the third andfourth stream IDs with the MAC address of the STA 114.

Subsequently, the STA 114 may transmit a third trigger message 480(e.g., a U-APSD trigger message) to the AP 104. The third triggermessage 480 may indicate to the AP 104 that the STA 114 is available fora data transmission. The AP 104 may transmit a third data transmission482 to the STA 114 in response receiving the third trigger message 480.However, the third data transmission 482 from the AP 104 to the STA 114may be based on the third offset value and/or the thirdinterval/duration received in the third message and the fourth offsetvalue and/or the fourth interval/duration value received in the fourthmessage. In one configuration, the AP 104 may determine a transmissiontime window based on at least one of the third and/or fourth offsetvalues and the third and/or fourth interval/duration values. In anaspect, the AP 104 may determine the transmission time window byselecting a transmission time window size that does not overlap with anyfuture interference as determined based on the third and/or fourthoffset values and the third and/or fourth interval/duration values.Referring to diagram 450, upon receiving the third trigger message 480,the AP 104 may transmit the third data transmission 482 with atransmission window size that ends when the AP 104 expects the STA 114to experience the third LTE interference burst 456. Although thetransmission window size may be set to 2.5 ms based on theinterval/duration value in the fourth message, the transmission windowsize may be shortened so as not to overlap with the third LTEinterference burst 456.

In another aspect, the STA 114 may transmit a fourth trigger message 484to the AP 104. Upon receiving the fourth trigger message 484, the AP 104may transmit a fourth data transmission 486 to the STA 114. Thetransmission time window size associated with the fourth datatransmission 486 may reach the maximum 2.5 ms based on the fourthinterval/duration value received in the fourth message. In this aspect,the transmission window size was able to reach the maximum durationbecause the maximum duration did not overlap with any interferencebursts. In an aspect, each trigger message (e.g., the third triggermessage 480 and the fourth trigger message 484) from the STA 114 maydefine a WLAN downlink window with a fixed size (e.g., equal to the timeduration of the interval/duration value such as 2.5 ms) that isnegotiated between the AP 104 and the STA 114 through signaling (e.g.,U-APSD signaling).

In another configuration, when the interference burst associated with atraffic stream changes, the STA 114 may transmit an update (ormaintenance) message to the AP 104 with updated interferenceinformation. The update message may be associated with the first messagefrom the STA 114 to the AP 104 (or any other coexistence request messagethat the AP 104 previously received from the 114), in which the firstmessage included the first stream ID, the first offset value, and thefirst interval/duration value. The update message may include the samestream ID as in the first message (or the stream ID of another messageto which the update message is associated with). The update message mayalso include an updated offset value and/or an updated interval/durationvalue. The AP 104 may receive the update message from the STA 114 anddetermine that the update message is associated with the first messagereceived from the STA 114 because the update message includes a streamID that is identical to the stream ID in the first message. The AP 104may update the offset value and/or the interval/duration valueassociated with the stream ID in the initial message based on theupdated offset value and/or the updated interval/duration value in theupdate message.

In another configuration, when a traffic stream ceases to exist, the STA114 may transmit an update (or maintenance) message (e.g., a deletetraffic stream frame or an add traffic stream frame with the optionalsubelement indicating a delete action and optionally a stream ID) to theAP 104. The update message may be associated with the first message fromthe STA 114 to the AP 104, for example, in which the first messageincluded the first stream ID, the first offset value, and the firstinterval/duration value. The update message may include the same streamID as the first message. The update message may also instruct orindicate that the interference information (e.g., the offset valueand/or the interval/duration value) associated with the first stream IDin the first message is to be deleted. In another aspect, the STA 114may utilize a reserved value for the stream ID, and the reserved valuemay indicate that all stream IDs associated with the STA 114 are to bedeleted. This enables the STA 114 to efficiently request that allinactive stream IDs be deleted rather than having to transmit a separatemessage to delete each stream ID. The AP 104 may receive the updatemessage from the AP 104, and the update message may be associated withthe received first message from the STA 114 (or any other receivedmessage from the STA 114). The update message may include a stream IDthat is identical to the stream ID in the first message. In one aspect,the AP 104 may delete the offset value and/or the interval durationvalue associated with the stream ID. In another aspect, if the stream IDis a reserved stream ID that indicates all stream IDs are to be deleted,the AP 104 may delete all stream IDs associated with the STA 114.

In another configuration, the STA 114 may have multiple non-periodicinterference sources (e.g., A2DP and asynchronous connection-less (ACL)connections for best-effort traffic). In this configuration, the STA 114may identify an A2DP traffic stream and an ACL traffic stream, forexample, and determine a time window duration value suitable to bothdata flows. The STA 114 may identify the two non-periodic trafficstreams by determining which applications are active on the STA 114 anddetermining the required connections associated the active applications.After identifying the A2DP and ACL traffic streams, for example, the STA114 may determine a time window duration value suitable to A2DP and atime window duration value suitable to ACL. Next, the STA 114 may selectthe minimum (or maximum or average) value based on the two durationvalues. Similar selection methods may be used if there are more than 2non-periodic traffic streams. The selected duration value may be sent ina message to the AP 104 (e.g., in the ATS frame). Messages related tonon-periodic traffic may have a common stream ID. That is, if the AP has2 non-periodic traffic streams, both streams may share (and beassociated with) a single stream ID (this may also be the case if thereare more than 2 non-periodic traffic streams). In an aspect, the STA 114may utilize a reserved value for the stream ID (such as stream ID 0),and the reserved value indicates that the message and stream ID isassociated with one or more non-periodic traffic/interference bursts.

In another configuration, the STA 114 may determine whether the AP 104is capable of interference information processing using stream IDsbefore sending messages with stream IDs to the AP 104. In thisconfiguration, the STA 114 may receive a beacon message or a proberesponse message from the AP 104. The beacon message or the proberesponse message may include information (e.g., a bit indicator, 0=notstream ID enabled; 1=stream ID enabled) indicating whether the AP 104 iscapable of interference information processing using stream IDs. Basedon the information in the received beacon message or the probe responsemessage, the STA 114 may determine whether the AP 104 is capable ofinterference information processing using stream IDs.

In another configuration, the STA 114 may communicate information to theAP 104 to indicate whether the STA 114 is capable of using stream IDs toreport interference information (e.g., for mode 1 and/or mode 2). Forexample, the STA 114 may transmit an association message to the AP 104.The association message may indicate whether the STA 114 is capable ofusing stream IDs to report interference information associated with atraffic stream.

In yet another configuration, the STA 114 may want to receive highpriority data transmissions from the AP 104 even when the STA 114 may beexpecting interference bursts. In this configuration, when the STA 114expects high priority data from the AP 104, the STA 114 may transmit atrigger message to the AP 104 during a time period in which theinterference to the STA 114 is present.

FIG. 5 shows an example functional block diagram of a wireless device502 that may perform AP-assisted multi-way coexistence for communicatingwithin the wireless communication system 100 of FIG. 1. The wirelessdevice 502 is an example of a device that may be configured to implementthe various methods described herein. For example, the wireless device502 may comprise one of the STAs 112, 114, 116, and 118.

The wireless device 502 may include a processor 504 which controlsoperation of the wireless device 502. The processor 504 may also bereferred to as a central processing unit (CPU). Memory 506, which mayinclude both read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM), mayprovide instructions and data to the processor 504. A portion of thememory 506 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).The processor 504 typically performs logical and arithmetic operationsbased on program instructions stored within the memory 506. Theinstructions in the memory 506 may be executable (by the processor 504,for example) to implement the methods described herein.

The processor 504 may comprise or be a component of a processing systemimplemented with one or more processors. The one or more processors maybe implemented with any combination of general-purpose microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmablegate array (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers,state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware components, dedicatedhardware finite state machines, or any other suitable entities that canperform calculations or other manipulations of information.

The processing system may also include machine-readable media forstoring software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean any typeof instructions, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware,microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. Instructions mayinclude code (e.g., in source code format, binary code format,executable code format, or any other suitable format of code). Theinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause theprocessing system to perform the various functions described herein.

The wireless device 502 may also include a housing 508, and the wirelessdevice 502 may include a transmitter 510 and/or a receiver 512 to allowtransmission and reception of data between the wireless device 502 and aremote device. The transmitter 510 and the receiver 512 may be combinedinto a transceiver 514. An antenna 516 may be attached to the housing508 and electrically coupled to the transceiver 514. The wireless device502 may also include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multipletransceivers, and/or multiple antennas.

The wireless device 502 may also include a signal detector 518 that maybe used to detect and quantify the level of signals received by thetransceiver 514 or the receiver 512. The signal detector 518 may detectsuch signals as total energy, energy per subcarrier per symbol, powerspectral density, and other signals. The wireless device 502 may alsoinclude a digital signal processor (DSP) 520 for use in processingsignals. The DSP 520 may be configured to generate a packet fortransmission. In some aspects, the packet may comprise a PPDU.

The wireless device 502 may further comprise a user interface 522 insome aspects. The user interface 522 may comprise a keypad, amicrophone, a speaker, and/or a display. The user interface 522 mayinclude any element or component that conveys information to a user ofthe wireless device 502 and/or receives input from the user.

When the wireless device 502 is implemented as a STA (e.g., STA 114),the wireless device 502 may also comprise a multi-way coexistencecomponent 524. The multi-way coexistence component 524 may be configuredto identify interference information (e.g., interference information528) associated with at least one traffic stream. The multi-waycoexistence component 524 may be configured to transmit a message to anaccess point, and the message may include a stream ID (e.g., stream ID534) associated with the interference information and with the at leastone traffic stream. The message may include the interferenceinformation, and the interference information may include an offsetvalue and an interval/duration value. In an aspect, the message mayfurther include at least one of a vendor identifier, a type field, and alength field associated with the stream ID. In another configuration,the multi-way coexistence component 524 may be configured to transmit anupdate message to the access point, and the update message may beassociated with the message. The update message may include the streamID in the message and at least one of a second offset value or a secondinterval/duration value. The second offset value or the secondinterval/duration value may be associated with updated interferenceinformation related to the at least one traffic stream. In anotherconfiguration, the multi-way coexistence component 524 may be configuredto transmit an update message to the access point, and the updatemessage may be associated with the message. The update message mayinclude the stream ID in the message and may indicate that theinterference information associated with the stream ID is to be deleted.In another configuration, the multi-way coexistence component 524 may beconfigured to identify at least two non-periodic traffic streams anddetermine the interval/duration value based on the at least twonon-periodic traffic streams. The stream ID transmitted in the messagemay be associated with the at least two non-periodic traffic streams. Inan aspect, the stream ID may have a reserved value, and the reservedvalue may indicate that the message is associated with non-periodictraffic. In another aspect, the stream ID may have a reserved value, andthe reserved value may indicate that all stream IDs associated with thestation are to be deleted. In another configuration, the multi-waycoexistence component 524 may be configured to receive a beacon messageor a probe response message from the access point, and the beaconmessage or the probe response message may include information indicatingwhether the access point is capable of interference informationprocessing using stream IDs. In this configuration, the multi-waycoexistence component 524 may be configured to determine whether theaccess point is capable of interference information processing usingstream IDs based on the information in the beacon message or the proberesponse message (e.g., based on an AP capability bit 532). In anotherconfiguration, the multi-way coexistence component 524 may be configuredto transmit an association message to the access point, and theassociation message may indicate whether the station is capable of usingstream IDs to report interference information associated with a trafficstream (e.g., based on a STA capability bit 530). In anotherconfiguration, the multi-way coexistence component 524 may be configuredto transmit a trigger message to the access point, and the triggermessage may be transmitted during a time period in which interference tothe station is not present.

The various components of the wireless device 502 may be coupledtogether by a bus system 526. The bus system 526 may include a data bus,for example, as well as a power bus, a control signal bus, and a statussignal bus in addition to the data bus. Components of the wirelessdevice 502 may be coupled together or accept or provide inputs to eachother using some other mechanism.

Although a number of separate components are illustrated in FIG. 5, oneor more of the components may be combined or commonly implemented. Forexample, the processor 504 may be used to implement not only thefunctionality described above with respect to the processor 504, butalso to implement the functionality described above with respect to thesignal detector 518, the DSP 520, the user interface 522, and/or themulti-way coexistence component 524. Further, each of the componentsillustrated in FIG. 5 may be implemented using a plurality of separateelements.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example method 600 of performing multi-waycoexistence. The method 600 may be performed using an apparatus (e.g.,the STA 114 or the wireless device 502, for example). Although themethod 600 is described below with respect to the elements of wirelessdevice 502 of FIG. 5, other components may be used to implement one ormore of the steps described herein. In an aspect, blocks delineated withdotted lines may represent optional operations.

At block 605, the apparatus may receive a beacon message or a proberesponse message from an access point. The beacon message or the proberesponse message may include information indicating whether the accesspoint is capable of interference information processing using streamIDs. For example, the apparatus may correspond to the STA 114, and theSTA 114 may receive a beacon message or a probe response message fromthe AP 104. The beacon message may include information indicating thatthe AP 104 is capable of interference information processing usingstream IDs.

At block 610, the apparatus may determine whether the access point iscapable of interference information processing using stream IDs based onthe information in the beacon message or the probe response message. Forexample, the beacon message received from the AP 104 may includeinformation indicating that the AP 104 is capable of interferenceinformation processing using stream IDs. The information may be a bitvalue. Based on the information included in the beacon message, the STA114 may determine that the AP 104 is capable of interference informationprocessing using stream IDs. In this example, if the bit value is set to1, then the AP 104 is capable of interference information processing,and if the bit value is set to 0, then the AP 104 is not capable ofinterference information processing.

At block 615, the apparatus may transmit an association message to theaccess point. The association message may indicate whether the stationis capable of using stream IDs to report interference informationassociated with a traffic stream. For example, the STA 114 may transmitan association message to the AP 104. The association message mayindicate that the STA 114 is capable of using stream IDs to reportinterference information associated with a traffic streams (e.g., LTE,BT, etc.).

At block 620, the apparatus may identify interference informationassociated with at least one traffic stream. For example, the STA 114may have an LTE connection. The STA 114 may identify the interferenceinformation by determining that with respect to the LTE connection, theSTA 114 is scheduled to transmit at various time slots or traffic slots.The STA 114 may determine an offset value (e.g., a TSF offset value)associated with when the first interference burst is expected aninterval at which subsequent interference bursts may be expected.

At block 625, the apparatus may identify at least two non-periodictraffic streams. For example, the STA 114 may identify at least twonon-periodic traffic streams by determining a set of current connectionsand determining which connection in the set of current connectionstransmits non-period traffic. For example, the STA 114 may determine aBT A2DP connection and a BT ACL connection—both of which havenon-periodic traffic streams and non-periodic BT interference bursts.

At block 630, the apparatus may determine an interval/duration valuebased on the at least two non-periodic traffic streams. For example, theSTA 114 may determine an interval/duration value based on the BT A2DPconnection and the BT ACL connection. The STA 114 may determine that theBT A2DP connection has an interval/duration value of 2.5 ms, and the STA114 may determine that the BT ACL connection has an interval/durationvalue of 5 ms. Each of the duration values may represent a time durationduring which the STA 114 is available to receive transmissions from theAP 104. The STA 114 may choose the minimum interval/duration value—2.5ms—to represent both connections.

At block 635, the apparatus may transmit a message to an access point.The message may include a stream ID associated with the interferenceinformation and with the at least one traffic stream, and the messagemay include the interference information. The interference informationmay include an offset value and an interval/duration value. In anaspect, the offset value may indicate when a next interferenceburst/interference window may occur (e.g., offset from a current time).In another aspect, the stream ID may be associated with at least twonon-periodic traffic streams. In one example, referring to FIG. 4, theSTA 114 may transmit the first message to the AP 104. The first messagemay include a stream ID 1 associated with an LTE traffic stream, and thestream ID 1 may be associated with interference information. Theinterference information may include an offset value 1 ms, and aninterval/duration value 5 ms. In another example, referring to FIG. 4,the STA 114 may transmit the fourth message to the AP 104. The fourthmessage may include a stream ID 0 associated with a BT A2DP trafficstream and the stream ID 0 may be associated with interferenceinformation. The interference information may include an offset value of0, and an interval/duration value of 5 ms. In yet another example, theSTA 114 may transmit the fourth message to the AP 104. The fourthmessage may include a stream ID 0 associated with a BT A2DP trafficstream and a BT ACL traffic stream, and the stream ID 0 may beassociated with interference information associated with both the BTA2DP and BT ACL traffic streams. The interference information mayinclude an offset value of 0 and an interval/duration value of 2.5 ms byselecting the minimum value between a 2.5 ms interval/duration value forthe BT A2DP traffic stream and a 5 ms interval/duration value for the BTACL traffic stream.

At block 640, the apparatus may transmit an update message to the accesspoint. The update message may be associated with the message. The updatemessage may include the stream ID in the message and at least one of asecond offset value or a second interval/duration value, and the secondoffset value or the second interval/duration value may be associatedwith updated interference information related to the at least onetraffic stream. For example, referring to diagram 400 in FIG. 4, the STA114 may have (or be assigned) different LTE resources, thereby causing achange in the LTE interference bursts. To report the new interferencebursts to the AP 104, the STA 114 may transmit an update message to theAP 104. The update message may be associated the first message to the AP104. The update message may include the same stream ID 1 as in the firstmessage and an updated offset value of 2 ms and an updatedinterval/duration value of 3 ms. The updated offset andinterval/duration values may be associated with the updated interferenceburst information related to the LTE traffic stream.

At block 645, the apparatus may transmit a trigger message to the accesspoint. The trigger message may be transmitted during a time period inwhich interference to the apparatus is not present. For example,referring to diagram 400 of FIG. 4, the STA 114 may transmit the secondtrigger message 434 during a time period that does not overlap with theuplink traffic slots 404.

At block 650, the apparatus may transmit an update message to the accesspoint. The update message may be associated with the message. The updatemessage may include the stream ID in the message and may indicate thatthe interference information associated with the stream ID is to bedeleted. For example, referring to FIG. 4, the STA 114 may transmit anupdate message to the AP 104. The update message may be associated withthe first message. The update message may include the stream ID 1 in thefirst message and may indicate that the interference information (e.g.,the offset value and/or the interval/duration value) associated withstream ID 1 is to be deleted by the AP 104.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of an example wirelesscommunication device 700 that performs multi-way coexistence. Thewireless communication device 700 may include a receiver 705, aprocessing system 710, and a transmitter 715. The processing system 710may include a multi-way coexistence component 724, and/or a capabilitiescomponent 730. The processing system 710 and/or the multi-waycoexistence component 724 may be configured to identify interferenceinformation (e.g., interference information 728) associated with atleast one traffic stream. The processing system 710, the multi-waycoexistence component 724, and/or the transmitter 715 may be configuredto transmit a message to an access point. The message may include astream ID (e.g., a stream ID 726) associated with the interferenceinformation and with the at least one traffic stream. The message mayinclude the interference information, and the interference informationmay include an offset value and an interval/duration value. In anaspect, the message may further include at least one of a vendor ID, atype field, and a length field associated with the stream ID. In oneconfiguration, the processing system 710, the multi-way coexistencecomponent 724, and/or the transmitter 715 may be configured to transmitan update message to the access point. The update message may beassociated with the message, and the update message may include thestream ID in the message and at least one of a second offset value or asecond interval/duration value. The second offset value or the secondinterval/duration value may be associated with updated interferenceinformation related to the at least one traffic stream. In anotherconfiguration, the processing system 710, the multi-way coexistencecomponent 724, and/or the transmitter 715 may be configured to transmitan update message to the access point. The update message may beassociated with the message, and the update message may include thestream ID in the message and indicate that the interference informationassociated with the stream ID is to be deleted. In anotherconfiguration, the processing system 710 and/or the multi-waycoexistence component 724 may be configured to identify at least twonon-periodic traffic streams. The processing system 710 and/or themulti-way coexistence component 724 may be configured to determine theinterval/duration value based on the at least two non-periodic trafficstreams. The stream ID transmitted in the message may be associated withthe at least two non-periodic traffic streams. In an aspect, the streamID may have a reserved value, and the reserved value may indicate thatthe message is associated with non-periodic traffic. In another aspect,the stream ID may have a reserved value, and the reserved value mayindicate that all stream IDs associated with the wireless communicationdevice 700 are to be deleted. In another configuration, the processingsystem 710, the multi-way coexistence component 724, the capabilitiescomponent 730, and/or the receiver 705 may be configured to receive abeacon message or a probe response message from the access point. Thebeacon message or the probe response message may include informationindicating whether the access point is capable of interferenceinformation processing using stream IDs (e.g., an AP capability bit732). The processing system 710, the capabilities component 730, and/orthe multi-way coexistence component 724 may be configured to determinewhether the access point is capable of interference informationprocessing using stream IDs based on the information in the beaconmessage or the probe response message. In another configuration, theprocessing system 710, the multi-way coexistence component 724, thecapabilities component 730, and/or the transmitter 715 may be configuredto transmit an association message to the access point. The associationmessage may indicate whether the wireless communication device 700 iscapable of using stream IDs to report interference informationassociated with a traffic stream (e.g., a STA capability bit 734). Inanother configuration, the processing system 710, the multi-waycoexistence component 724, and/or the transmitter 715 may be configuredto transmit a trigger message to the access point, and the triggermessage may be transmitted during a time period in which interference tothe wireless communication device 700 is not present.

The receiver 705, the processing system 710, the multi-way coexistencecomponent 724, and/or the transmitter 715 may be configured to performone or more functions discussed above with respect to blocks 605, 610,615, 620, 625, 630, 635, 640, 645, and 650 of FIG. 6. The receiver 705may correspond to the receiver 512. The processing system 710 maycorrespond to the processor 504. The transmitter 715 may correspond tothe transmitter 510. The multi-way coexistence component 724 maycorrespond to the multi-way coexistence component 126 and/or themulti-way coexistence component 524.

In one configuration, the wireless communication device 700 may includemeans for identifying interference information associated with at leastone traffic stream. The wireless communication device 700 may includemeans for transmitting a message to an access point, and the message mayinclude a stream ID associated with the interference information andwith the at least one traffic stream. The message may include theinterference information, and the interference information may includean offset value and an interval/duration value. In an aspect, themessage may further include at least one of a vendor ID, a type field,and a length field associated with the stream ID. In anotherconfiguration, the wireless communication device 700 may include meansfor transmitting an update message to the access point, and the updatemessage may be associated with the message. The update message mayinclude the stream ID in the message and at least one of a second offsetvalue or a second interval/duration value, and the second offset valueor the second interval/duration value may be associated with updatedinterference information related to the at least one traffic stream. Inanother configuration, the wireless communication device 700 may includemeans for transmitting an update message to the access point, and theupdate message may be associated with the message. The update messagemay include the stream ID in the message and may indicate that theinterference information associated with the stream ID is to be deleted.In another configuration, the wireless communication device 700 mayinclude means for identifying at least two non-periodic traffic streamsand means for determining the interval/duration value based on the atleast two non-periodic traffic streams. The stream ID transmitted in themessage may be associated with the at least two non-periodic trafficstreams. In another aspect, the stream ID may have a reserved value, andthe reserved value may indicate that the message is associated withnon-periodic traffic. In another aspect, the stream ID may have areserved value, and the reserved value may indicate that all stream IDsassociated with the station are to be deleted. In another configuration,the wireless communication device 700 may include means for receiving abeacon message or a probe response message from the access point. Thebeacon message or the probe response message may include informationindicating whether the access point is capable of interferenceinformation processing using stream IDs. In this configuration, thewireless communication device 700 may include means for determiningwhether the access point is capable of interference informationprocessing using stream IDs based on the information in the beaconmessage or the probe response message. In another configuration, thewireless communication device 700 may include means for transmitting anassociation message to the access point, and the association message mayindicate whether the station is capable of using stream IDs to reportinterference information associated with a traffic stream. In anotherconfiguration, the wireless communication device 700 may include meansfor transmitting a trigger message to the access point, and the triggermessage may be transmitted during a time period in which interference tothe station is not present.

For example, means for identifying interference information may includethe processing system 710 and/or the multi-way coexistence component724. Means for transmitting may include the processing system 710, themulti-way coexistence component 724, and/or the transmitter 715. Meansfor identifying at least two non-periodic traffic streams may includethe processing system 710 and/or the multi-way coexistence component724. Means for determining the interval/duration value may include theprocessing system 710 and/or the multi-way coexistence component 724.Means for receiving may include the processing system 710, the multi-waycoexistence component 724, and/or the receiver 705. Means fordetermining whether the access point is capable of interferenceinformation processing using stream IDs the processing system 710, thecapabilities component 730, and/or the multi-way coexistence component724.

FIG. 8 shows an example functional block diagram of a wireless device802 supporting multi-way coexistence within the wireless communicationsystem 100 of FIG. 1. The wireless device 802 is an example of a devicethat may be configured to implement the various methods describedherein. For example, the wireless device 802 may comprise the AP 104.

The wireless device 802 may include a processor 804 which controlsoperation of the wireless device 802. The processor 804 may also bereferred to as a CPU. Memory 806, which may include both ROM and RAM,may provide instructions and data to the processor 804. A portion of thememory 806 may also include NVRAM. The processor 804 typically performslogical and arithmetic operations based on program instructions storedwithin the memory 806. The instructions in the memory 806 may beexecutable (by the processor 804, for example) to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The processor 804 may comprise or be a component of a processing systemimplemented with one or more processors. The one or more processors maybe implemented with any combination of general-purpose microprocessors,microcontrollers, DSPs, PGAs, PLDs, controllers, state machines, gatedlogic, discrete hardware components, dedicated hardware finite statemachines, or any other suitable entities that can perform calculationsor other manipulations of information.

The processing system may also include machine-readable media forstoring software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean any typeof instructions, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware,microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. Instructions mayinclude code (e.g., in source code format, binary code format,executable code format, or any other suitable format of code). Theinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause theprocessing system to perform the various functions described herein.

The wireless device 802 may also include a housing 808, and the wirelessdevice 802 may include a transmitter 810 and/or a receiver 812 to allowtransmission and reception of data between the wireless device 802 and aremote device. The transmitter 810 and the receiver 812 may be combinedinto a transceiver 814. An antenna 816 may be attached to the housing808 and electrically coupled to the transceiver 814. The wireless device802 may also include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multipletransceivers, and/or multiple antennas.

The wireless device 802 may also include a signal detector 818 that maybe used to detect and quantify the level of signals received by thetransceiver 814 or the receiver 812. The signal detector 818 may detectsuch signals as total energy, energy per subcarrier per symbol, powerspectral density, and other signals. The wireless device 802 may alsoinclude a DSP 820 for use in processing signals. The DSP 820 may beconfigured to generate a packet for transmission. In some aspects, thepacket may comprise a PPDU.

The wireless device 802 may further comprise a user interface 822 insome aspects. The user interface 822 may comprise a keypad, amicrophone, a speaker, and/or a display. The user interface 822 mayinclude any element or component that conveys information to a user ofthe wireless device 802 and/or receives input from the user.

When the wireless device 802 is implemented as an AP (e.g., AP 104), thewireless device 802 may also comprise an interference component 824. Theinterference component 824 may be configured to receive at least onemessage (e.g., a message 832) from a station. The at least one messagemay include interference information (e.g., interference information830) that includes an offset value and an interval/duration value. Theinterference component 824 may be configured to determine whether the atleast one message includes at least one of a stream ID, a vendor ID, atype field, or a length field associated with the stream ID. Theinterference component 824 may be configured to receive a triggermessage from the station. The interference component 824 may beconfigured to transmit data to the station based on at least one of theoffset value or the interval/duration value in each of the received atleast one message. In an aspect, the interference component 824 may beconfigured to transmit data to the station by determining a transmissiontime window based on the at least one of the offset value or theinterval/duration value in each of the received at least one message.The interference component 824 may determine the transmission timewindow by selecting a transmission time window size that does notoverlap with any future interference as determined based on the offsetvalue or the interval/duration value in each of the received at leastone message. The interference component 824 may be configured to receivean update message (e.g., an update message 828) from the station. Theupdate message may be associated with the received at least one messagefrom the station, and the update message may include a second stream IDidentical to the stream ID in the received at least one message and mayinclude at least one of an updated offset value or an updatedinterval/duration value. The interference component 824 may beconfigured to update at least one of the offset value or theinterval/duration value associated with the stream ID based on theupdated offset value or the updated interval/duration value. Theinterference component 824 may be configured to receive an updatemessage from the station. The update message may be associated with thereceived at least one message from the station. The update message mayinclude a second stream ID identical to the stream ID in the received atleast one message. The interference component 824 may be configured todelete at least one of the offset value or the interval/duration valueassociated with the stream ID. The interference component 824 may beconfigured to receive an update message from the station. The updatemessage may include a second stream ID having a default value indicatingthat all stream IDs associated with the station are to be deleted. Theinterference component 824 may be configured to delete all stream IDsassociated with the station. The interference component 824 may beconfigured to associate the received at least one message from thestation with a reserved stream ID based on the determination that thereceived at least one message does not include a stream ID. Theinterference component 824 may be configured to transmit a beaconmessage or a probe response message to the station, and the beaconmessage or the probe response message may indicate whether the wirelessdevice 802 is capable of interference information processing usingstream IDs. The interference component 824 may be configured to receivean association message from the station, and the association message mayindicate whether the station is capable of using stream IDs to reportinterference information associated with a traffic stream.

The various components of the wireless device 802 may be coupledtogether by a bus system 826. The bus system 826 may include a data bus,for example, as well as a power bus, a control signal bus, and a statussignal bus in addition to the data bus. Components of the wirelessdevice 802 may be coupled together or accept or provide inputs to eachother using some other mechanism.

Although a number of separate components are illustrated in FIG. 8, oneor more of the components may be combined or commonly implemented. Forexample, the processor 804 may be used to implement not only thefunctionality described above with respect to the processor 804, butalso to implement the functionality described above with respect to thesignal detector 818, the DSP 820, the user interface 822, and/or theinterference component 824. Further, each of the components illustratedin FIG. 8 may be implemented using a plurality of separate elements.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts of an example method 900 of wirelesscommunication for supporting AP-assisted multi-way coexistence. Themethod 900 may be performed using an apparatus (e.g., the AP 104 or thewireless device 802, for example). Although the method 900 is describedbelow with respect to the elements of wireless device 802 of FIG. 8,other components may be used to implement one or more of the stepsdescribed herein. Blocks denoted with dotted lines may representoptional operations.

At block 905, the apparatus may transmit a beacon message or a proberesponse message to the station. The beacon message or the proberesponse message may indicate whether the apparatus is capable ofinterference information processing using stream IDs. For example,referring to FIG. 4, the AP 104 may transmit a beacon message to the STA114. The beacon message may indicate that the AP 104 is capable ofinterference information processing using stream IDs.

At block 910, the apparatus may receive an association message from thestation. The association message may indicate whether the station iscapable of using stream IDs to report interference informationassociated with a traffic stream. For example, referring to FIG. 4, theAP 104 may receive an association message from the STA 114. Theassociation message may indicate that the STA 114 is capable of usingstream IDs to report interference information associated with a trafficstream (e.g., the LTE traffic stream).

At block 915, the apparatus may receive at least one message from astation. The at least one message may include interference informationthat may include an offset value and an interval/duration value.Referring to diagram 450 in FIG. 4, the AP 104 may receive the third andthe fourth messages from the STA 114. The third message may includeinterference information associated with the LTE traffic stream. Theinterference information may include a third offset value (e.g., 1 ms)and a third interval/duration value (e.g., 5 ms). The fourth message mayinclude interference information associated with the BT A2DP trafficstream. The interference information may include a fourth offset value(e.g., 0) and a fourth interval/duration value (e.g., 2.5 ms).

At block 920, the apparatus may determine whether the at least onemessage includes at least one of a stream ID, a vendor ID, a type field,or a length field associated with the stream ID. For example, referringto diagram 450 in FIG. 4, the AP 104 may determine that third messageincludes a stream ID 1. The AP 104 may determine that the fourth messageincludes a stream ID 0. In another example, the AP 104 may determinethat the third message does not include a stream ID.

At block 925, the apparatus may associate the received at least onemessage from the station with a reserved stream ID based on thedetermination that the received at least one message does not include astream ID. For example, referring to FIG. 4, if the AP 104 determinesthat the third message received from the STA 114 does not include astream ID, the AP 104 may associate the third message with a reservedstream ID −1.

At block 930, the apparatus may receive a trigger message from thestation. For example, referring to FIG. 4, the AP 104 may receive thesecond trigger message 434 from the STA 114.

At block 935, the apparatus may transmit data to the station based on atleast one of the offset value or the interval/duration value in each ofthe received at least one message. For example, referring to diagram 400in FIG. 4, the AP 104 may transmit data to the STA 114 based on theoffset value and the interval/duration value in each of the firstmessage and the second message. In an aspect, the AP 104 maytransmit/schedule a data transmission that satisfies the earliestexpected interference at the STA 114 (e.g., based on offset+n*interval)of a mode 1 request or the time duration indicated in a mode 2 request,whichever is earlier in time. In this aspect, n may be a non-negativeinteger.

At block 940, the apparatus may receive an update message from thestation. The update message may be associated with the received at leastone message from the station. The update message may include a secondstream ID identical to the stream ID in the received at least onemessage and may include at least one of an updated offset value or anupdated interval/duration value. For example, referring to FIG. 4, theAP 104 may receive an updated message from the STA 114. The updatemessage may be associated with the first message received from the STA114. The update message may include a second stream ID 1, that isidentical to the stream ID 1 received in the first message. The updatemessage may include an updated offset value of 2 ms and an updatedinterval/duration value of 3 ms.

At block 945, the apparatus may update at least one of the offset valueor the interval/duration value associated with the stream ID based onthe updated offset value or the updated interval/duration value. Forexample, referring to FIG. 4, the AP 104 may update the offset value(e.g., 1 ms) and the interval/duration value (e.g., 5 ms) associatedwith the stream ID 1 based on the updated offset value (e.g., 2 ms) andthe updated interval/duration value (e.g., 3 ms). In an aspect, insteadof an actual value, the update message may include values to with whichto adjust the offset value or the interval/duration value.

At block 950, the apparatus may receive an update message from thestation. The update message may be associated with the received at leastone message from the station. The update message may include a secondstream ID identical to the stream ID in the received at least onemessage. For example, referring to diagram 400 in FIG. 4, the AP 104 mayreceive an update message from the STA 114. The update message may beassociated with the first message from the STA 114. The update messagemay include a second stream ID 1 identical to the stream ID 1 in thefirst message.

At block 955, the apparatus may delete at least one of the offset valueor the interval/duration value associated with the stream ID. Forexample, referring to FIG. 4, the AP 104 may delete the offset value andthe interval/duration value associated with stream ID 1 of the firstmessage. In an aspect, the AP 104 may also delete the stream ID 1associated with the STA 114.

At block 960, the apparatus may receive an update message from thestation. The update message may include a second stream ID having adefault value indicating that all stream IDs associated with the stationare to be deleted. For example, referring to FIG. 4, the AP 104 mayreceive an update message from the STA 114. The update message mayinclude a second stream ID 255, which may be a default value, orreserved value, indicating that all stream IDs associated with the STA114 are to be deleted.

At block 965, the apparatus may delete all stream IDs associated withthe station. For example, referring to FIG. 4, the AP 104 may delete allstream IDs (e.g., stream IDs associated with the first message and thesecond message) associated with the STA 114. The AP 104 may identify allstream IDs associated with the STA 114 based on the MAC address of theSTA 114.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of an example wirelesscommunication device 1000 for supporting AP-assisted multi-waycoexistence. The wireless communication device 1000 may include areceiver 1005, a processing system 1010, and a transmitter 1015. Theprocessing system 1010 may include an interference component 1024 and/ora scheduling component 1032. The processing system 1010, theinterference component 1024, and/or the receiver 1005 may be configuredto receive at least one message (e.g., a message 1026) from a station.The at least one message may include interference information thatincludes an offset value and an interval/duration value. The processingsystem 1010 and/or the interference component 1024 may be configured todetermine whether the at least one message includes at least one of astream ID, a vendor ID, a type field, or a length field associated withthe stream ID. In an aspect, the processing system 1010 and/or theinterference component 1024 may be configured to determine aninterference schedule 1028 based on the received at least one messageand provide the interference schedule 1028 to the scheduling component1032 to schedule data transmissions to the station based on theinterference schedule 1028. The processing system 1010, the interferencecomponent 1024, the scheduling component 1032, and/or the receiver 1005may be configured to receive a trigger message (e.g., a trigger message1034) from the station. The processing system 1010, the interferencecomponent 1024, the scheduling component 1032, and/or the transmitter1015 may be configured to transmit data (e.g., data 1030) to the stationbased on at least one of the offset value or the interval/duration valuein each of the received at least one message. In an aspect, theprocessing system 1010, the interference component 1024, the schedulingcomponent 1032, and/or the transmitter 1015 may be configured totransmit data by determining a transmission time window based on the atleast one of the offset value or the interval/duration value in each ofthe received at least one message. The transmission time window may bedetermined by selecting a transmission time window size that does notoverlap with any future interference as determined based on the offsetvalue or the interval/duration value in each of the received at leastone message. The processing system 1010, the interference component1024, and/or the receiver 1005 may be configured to receive an updatemessage from the station. The update message may be associated with thereceived at least one message from the station. The update message mayinclude a second stream ID identical to the stream ID in the received atleast one message and may include at least one of an updated offsetvalue or an updated interval/duration value. The processing system 1010and the interference component 1024 may be configured to update at leastone of the offset value or the interval/duration value associated withthe stream ID based on the updated offset value or the updatedinterval/duration value. The processing system 1010, the interferencecomponent 1024, and/or the receiver 1005 may be configured to receive anupdate message from the station. The update message may be associatedwith the received at least one message from the station. The updatemessage may include a second stream ID identical to the stream ID in thereceived at least one message. The processing system 1010 and theinterference component 1024 may be configured to delete at least one ofthe offset value or the interval/duration value associated with thestream ID. The processing system 1010, the interference component 1024,and/or the receiver 1005 may be configured to receive an update messagefrom the station. The update message may include a second stream IDhaving a default value indicating that all stream IDs associated withthe station are to be deleted. The processing system 1010 and theinterference component 1024 may be configured to delete all stream IDsassociated with the station. The processing system 1010 and theinterference component 1024 may be configured to associate the receivedat least one message from the station with a reserved stream ID based onthe determination that the received at least one message does notinclude a stream ID. The processing system 1010, the interferencecomponent 1024, and/or the transmitter 1015 may be configured totransmit a beacon message or a probe response message to the station.The beacon message or the probe response message may indicate whetherthe wireless communication device 1000 is capable of interferenceinformation processing using stream IDs. The processing system 1010, theinterference component 1024, and/or the receiver 1005 may be configuredto receive an association message from the station. The associationmessage may indicate whether the station is capable of using stream IDsto report interference information associated with a traffic stream.

The receiver 1005, the processing system 1010, the interferencecomponent 1024, and/or the transmitter 1015 may be configured to performone or more functions discussed above with respect to blocks 905, 910,915, 920, 925, 930, 935, 940, 945, 950, 955, 960, and 965 of FIGS. 9Aand 9B. The receiver 1005 may correspond to the receiver 812. Theprocessing system 1010 may correspond to the processor 804. Thetransmitter 1015 may correspond to the transmitter 810. The interferencecomponent 1024 may correspond to the interference component 124 and/orthe interference component 824.

In one configuration, the wireless communication device 1000 may includemeans for receiving at least one message from a station, and the atleast one message may include interference information that may includean offset value and an interval/duration value. The wirelesscommunication device 1000 may include mean for determining whether theat least one message includes at least one of a stream ID, a vendor ID,a type field, or a length field associated with the stream ID. Inanother configuration, the wireless communication device 1000 mayinclude means for receiving a trigger message from the station and meansfor transmitting data to the station based on at least one of the offsetvalue or the interval/duration value in each of the received at leastone message. In one configuration, the means for transmitting the datato the station may be configured to determine a transmission time windowbased on the at least one of the offset value or the interval/durationvalue in each of the received at least one message. In thisconfiguration, the means for determining may be configured to determinethe transmission time window by selecting a transmission time windowsize that does not overlap with any future interference as determinedbased on the offset value or the interval/duration value in each of thereceived at least one message. In another configuration, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may include means for receiving an updatemessage from the station. The update message may be associated with thereceived at least one message from the station, and the update messagemay include a second stream ID identical to the stream ID in thereceived at least one message and includes at least one of an updatedoffset value or an updated interval/duration value. In thisconfiguration, the wireless communication device 1000 may include meansfor updating at least one of the offset value or the interval/durationvalue associated with the stream ID based on the updated offset value orthe updated interval/duration value. In another configuration, thewireless communication device 1000 may include means for receiving anupdate message from the station, and the update message may beassociated with the received at least one message from the station. Theupdate message may include a second stream ID identical to the stream IDin the received at least one message. In this configuration, thewireless communication device 1000 may include means for deleting atleast one of the offset value or the interval/duration value associatedwith the stream ID. In another configuration, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may include means for receiving an update message from thestation. The update message may include a second stream ID having adefault value indicating that all stream IDs associated with the stationare to be deleted. In this configuration, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may include means for deleting all stream IDs associatedwith the station. In another configuration, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may include means for associating the received at least onemessage from the station with a reserved stream ID based on thedetermination that the received at least one message does not include astream ID. In another configuration, the wireless communication device1000 may include means for transmitting a beacon message or a proberesponse message to the station, and the beacon message or the proberesponse message may indicate whether the access point is capable ofinterference information processing using stream IDs. In anotherconfiguration, the wireless communication device 1000 may include meansfor receiving an association message from the station, and theassociation message may indicate whether the station is capable of usingstream IDs to report interference information associated with a trafficstream.

For example, means for receiving may include the processing system 1010,the interference component 1024, and/or the receiver 1005. Means fordetermining whether the at least one message includes at least one of astream ID may include the processing system 1010 and/or the interferencecomponent 1024. Means for transmitting may include the processing system1010, the interference component 1024, and/or the transmitter 1015.Means for updating may include the processing system 1010 and/or theinterference component 1024. Means for deleting may include theprocessing system 1010 and/or the interference component 1024. Means forassociating may include the processing system 1010 and/or theinterference component 1024.

The various operations of methods described above may be performed byany suitable means capable of performing the operations, such as varioushardware and/or software component(s), circuits, and/or module(s).Generally, any operations illustrated in the Figures may be performed bycorresponding functional means capable of performing the operations.

The various illustrative logical blocks, components and circuitsdescribed in connection with the present disclosure may be implementedor performed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGAor other PLD, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor,but in the alternative, the processor may be any commercially availableprocessor, controller, microcontroller or state machine. A processor mayalso be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration.

In one or more aspects, the functions described may be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implementedin software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as oneor more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. A storage media may be anyavailable media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example,and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM,EEPROM, compact disc (CD) ROM (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othermedium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in theform of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by acomputer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a web site,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.Disk and disc, as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc,digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disksusually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce dataoptically with lasers. Thus, computer readable medium comprises anon-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., tangible media).

The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions forachieving the described method. The method steps and/or actions may beinterchanged with one another without departing from the scope of theclaims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions isspecified, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may bemodified without departing from the scope of the claims.

Thus, certain aspects may comprise a computer program product forperforming the operations presented herein. For example, such a computerprogram product may comprise a computer readable medium havinginstructions stored (and/or encoded) thereon, the instructions beingexecutable by one or more processors to perform the operations describedherein. For certain aspects, the computer program product may includepackaging material.

Further, it should be appreciated that components and/or otherappropriate means for performing the methods and techniques describedherein can be downloaded and/or otherwise obtained by a user terminaland/or base station as applicable. For example, such a device can becoupled to a server to facilitate the transfer of means for performingthe methods described herein. Alternatively, various methods describedherein can be provided via storage means (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physicalstorage medium such as a CD or floppy disk, etc.), such that a userterminal and/or base station can obtain the various methods uponcoupling or providing the storage means to the device. Moreover, anyother suitable technique for providing the methods and techniquesdescribed herein to a device can be utilized.

It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the preciseconfiguration and components illustrated above. Various modifications,changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation anddetails of the methods and apparatus described above without departingfrom the scope of the claims.

While the foregoing is directed to aspects of the present disclosure,other and further aspects of the disclosure may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof isdetermined by the claims that follow.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. All structural andfunctional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects describedthroughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known tothose of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein byreference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover,nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in theclaims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35U.S.C. § 112(f), unless the element is expressly recited using thephrase “means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element isrecited using the phrase “step for.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication by a station,comprising: determining interference information associated withinterference windows of at least one traffic stream, the interferenceinformation comprising a non-zero offset value indicative that theinterference windows are periodic or a zero offset value indicative thatthe interference windows are non-periodic; and transmitting a messageincluding the interference information to an access point, wherein themessage includes a stream identifier (ID) associated with both theinterference information and the at least one traffic stream.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the interference information furthercomprises an interval/duration value indicative of: a time intervalbetween the interferences windows when the interference informationcomprises the non-zero offset value; or a time duration corresponding towhen the access point is allowed to transmit data to the station whenthe interference information comprises the zero offset value.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, further comprising: transmitting an update message tothe access point, wherein the update message is associated with themessage, wherein the update message includes the stream ID and at leastone of a second offset value or a second interval/duration value, andwherein the second offset value or the second interval/duration value isassociated with updated interference information related to the at leastone traffic stream.
 4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:transmitting an update message to the access point, wherein the updatemessage is associated with the message, wherein the update messageincludes the stream ID and indicates that the interference informationassociated with the stream ID is to be deleted.
 5. The method of claim2, wherein the at least one traffic stream includes at least twonon-periodic traffic streams, the method further comprising: determiningthe interval/duration value based on the at least two non-periodictraffic streams, wherein the stream ID is associated with the at leasttwo non-periodic traffic streams.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thestream ID is indicative that the interference windows of the at leastone traffic stream are non-periodic traffic.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the stream ID is a reserved value indicative that all stream IDsassociated with the station are to be deleted.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving a beacon message or a probe responsemessage from the access point, wherein the beacon message or the proberesponse message includes information indicative of whether the accesspoint is configured to perform interference information processing usingstream IDs; and determining whether the access point is configured toperform interference information processing using stream IDs based onthe information in the beacon message or the probe response message. 9.The method of claim 8, further comprising: transmitting an associationmessage to the access point, wherein the association message indicateswhether the station is configured to use stream IDs to reportinterference information associated with a traffic stream.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting a trigger message tothe access point during a time period in which interference associatedwith the station is not present.
 11. An apparatus for wirelesscommunication, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupledto the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:determine interference information associated with interference windowsof at least one traffic stream, the interference information comprisinga non-zero offset value indicative that the interference windows areperiodic or a zero offset value indicative that the interference windowsare non-periodic; and transmit a message including the interferenceinformation to an access point, wherein the message includes a streamidentifier (ID) associated with both the interference information andthe at least one traffic stream.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, whereinthe interference information further comprises an interval/durationvalue indicative of: a time interval between the interferences windowswhen the interference information comprises the non-zero offset value;or a time duration corresponding to when the access point is allowed totransmit data to the apparatus when the interference informationcomprises the zero offset value.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, whereinthe at least one processor is further configured to: transmit an updatemessage to the access point, wherein the update message is associatedwith the message, wherein the update message includes the stream ID andat least one of a second offset value or a second interval/durationvalue, and wherein the second offset value or the secondinterval/duration value is associated with updated interferenceinformation related to the at least one traffic stream.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to: transmit an update message to the access point, whereinthe update message is associated with the message, wherein the updatemessage includes the stream ID and indicates that the interferenceinformation associated with the stream ID is to be deleted.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one traffic stream includesat least two non-periodic traffic streams, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: determine the interval/durationvalue based on the at least two non-periodic traffic streams, whereinthe stream ID is associated with the at least two non-periodic trafficstreams.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: receive a beacon message or a proberesponse message from the access point, wherein the beacon message orthe probe response message includes information indicative of whetherthe access point is configured to perform interference informationprocessing using stream IDs; and determine whether the access point isconfigured to perform interference information processing using streamIDs based on the information in the beacon message or the probe responsemessage.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: transmit an association message tothe access point, wherein the association message indicates whether theapparatus is configured to use stream IDs to report interferenceinformation associated with a traffic stream.
 18. A method of wirelesscommunication by an access point, comprising: receiving at least onemessage from a station, wherein the at least one message includesinterference information comprising a non-zero offset value indicativethat interference windows associated with at least one traffic streamare periodic or a zero offset value indicative that the interferencewindows are non-periodic; determining a transmission time window basedon the non-zero offset value or the zero offset value in each of thereceived at least one message; and transmitting data to the stationwithin the transmission time window.
 19. The method of claim 18, furthercomprising: receiving a trigger message from the station; andtransmitting the data to the station based on the trigger message. 20.The method of claim 18, wherein the interference information furthercomprises an interval/duration value indicative of: a time intervalbetween the interferences windows when the interference informationcomprises the non-zero offset value; or a time duration corresponding towhen the access point is allowed to transmit data to the station whenthe interference information comprises the zero offset value, andwherein the method further comprises: determining the transmission timewindow based on the interval/duration value in each of the received atleast one message.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the determiningthe transmission time window comprises selecting a transmission timewindow size that does not overlap with any future interference asdetermined based on the non-zero offset value, the zero offset value, orthe interval/duration value in each of the received at least onemessage.
 22. The method of claim 20, further comprising: receiving anupdate message from the station, wherein the update message isassociated with the received at least one message from the station,wherein the update message includes a second stream ID identical to astream ID in the received at least one message and includes at least oneof an updated offset value or an updated interval/duration value; andupdating at least one of the non-zero offset value, the zero offsetvalue, or the interval/duration value associated with the stream IDbased on the updated offset value or the updated interval/durationvalue.
 23. The method of claim 20, further comprising: receiving anupdate message from the station, wherein the update message isassociated with the received at least one message from the station,wherein the update message includes a second stream ID identical to astream ID in the received at least one message; and deleting at leastone of the non-zero offset value, the zero offset value, or theinterval/duration value associated with the stream ID.
 24. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising: receiving an update message from thestation, wherein the update message includes a stream ID having adefault value indicating that all stream IDs associated with the stationare to be deleted; and deleting all stream IDs associated with thestation.
 25. The method of claim 18, further comprising: determiningthat the received at least one message does not include a stream ID; andassociating the received at least one message from the station with areserved stream ID based on the determination that the received at leastone message does not include a stream ID.
 26. The method of claim 18,further comprising: transmitting a beacon message or a probe responsemessage to the station, wherein the beacon message or the probe responsemessage indicates whether the access point is configured to performinterference information processing using stream IDs.
 27. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising: receiving an association message from thestation, wherein the association message indicates whether the stationis configured to use stream IDs to report interference informationassociated with a traffic stream.
 28. An apparatus for wirelesscommunication, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupledto the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:receive at least one message from a station, wherein the at least onemessage includes interference information comprising a non-zero offsetvalue indicative that interference windows associated with at least onetraffic stream are periodic or a zero offset value indicative that theinterference windows are non-periodic; determine a transmission timewindow based on the non-zero offset value or the zero offset value ineach of the received at least one message; and transmit data to thestation within the transmission time window.
 29. The apparatus of claim28, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receivea trigger message from the station; and transmit the data to the stationbased on the trigger message.
 30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein theat least one processor is further configured to: receive an updatemessage from the station, wherein the update message is associated withthe received at least one message from the station, wherein the updatemessage includes a second stream ID identical to a stream ID in thereceived at least one message and includes an updated offset; and updateat least one of the non-zero offset value or the zero offset valueassociated with the stream ID based on the updated offset value.